Those are the not words I wanted to hear from the title company, but that was the message received just two weeks before the closing on this Franklin County farm. As it would turn out, there were a multitude of problems and to understand these problems we need to start in 1969. In 1969, […]
Several years, I sold a farm that three brothers and three sisters had originally inherited from their parents in 1968. In 1975, one of the sisters died. She was a widow and her three children (we knew of only two at the time of the sale) inherited her 1/6 share ownership of the farm. A […]
A mother signed a deed giving 120 acres to her two daughters, or at least she and her daughters thought that had happened. After her death, the two sisters could not find the recorded deed; however, a stepsister found them. The two sisters now had their stepsister as a partner in the 120 acres. To […]
The Three Elements that Influence Land Prices In the late 1970s I knew a real estate investor/broker who owned several tracts of land in St. Charles County. The land was heavily financed and he no longer had the money to make the loan payments. His home was in foreclosure. It was a bleak time […]
There is this collective opinion that land sells best in the spring. Well, this isn’t necessarily true. While many prospective buyers look at land during the spring, the serious buyers purchase land year around…the hottest days of summer and the coldest days of winter. Land buyers are not hindered by holidays either. Buyers have called […]
Appraisers use three approaches when appraising to determine the market value of real estate property. These are: 1. Income approach 2. Cost approach 3. Sales comparison approach. Let’s say you hire an appraiser. If your property has productive land and buildings, the appraiser will combine all three approaches to determine market value. If there […]
In 1988, THE SELLER who was single purchased a home with 10 acres in Lincoln County. The next year, she added an adjoining 50 acres. She married a year later. The marriage had been on shaky grounds from the start but reached a breaking point in 1995, when her husband forged her name on credit […]
In 1951 George sold 80 acres to Titus. Titus was his neighbor and owned an adjoining 80 acres. Well, he didn’t sell the entire 80 acres. He kept a strip of land 15 ft x 1,320 ft along the north side of the land. It was described in the deed as a “roadway.” A few […]
False rumors and misinformation can circle the earth 10 times before the facts can travel to the end of the road. This is especially true in the rural land market. Here’s why. Accurate real estate sales information is not available in most Missouri county public records. So the only reliable sources for a sale […]